Where We Go From Here
by twistedtangela
Summary: Five Years after the "Hosu Massacre", Japan is finally beginning to recover. But how is a disgraced All Might supposed to recover from his greatest failure, especially when someone who is supposed to be dead supposedly resurfaces? First time writer, feedback would be appreciated. Tags will change as the story progresses.
1. The Death of a Smile

Chapter 1: The Death of a Smile

If it wasn't for the morning news, All Might would have missed the date.

"_Five years after the 'Hosu Massacre', UA Highschool reopens their Internship Program". _

"Has it really been five years?" All Might sighs into his stale morning coffee, and places it onto his coffee table. He could've sworn that it was shorter than that, but he paid it no mind. He didn't have any plans to cancel anyway. He hasn't had plans for years.

The Tokyo streets were nearly empty at this time of day, which is exactly how All Might likes it nowadays. He could deal without the empty glances of a world that no longer had a use for him. Even worse were the people that did recognize him; the disdain on their faces still leaves him reeled after all this time. He continued his silent commute until he reached the train station for Musutafu, where he fished through his pockets to get enough notes for the fare. Once he passed the turnstile, he squeezed between the other passengers. Despite the emptiness of the streets, it seemed that even at this time of day the train was filled at capacity. He tried not making eye contact, in an attempt to remain unnoticed, but it turned out to be futile as a man looked his way, struggling with recognition. "Oh no,'' thought All Might, mentally preparing himself to get booed off of another train. Instead, the man just smiled at him gently, and allowed him to take his seat on the train. "It's a hard day for everyone", he simply stated, and each man went silent to allow them to travel in peace. All Might was thankful for this, as it allowed him to think back to the night all those years ago, back before the world went to shit and turned against him…

"No no no, this won't work." All Might, currently in his true form, is busy trying to come up with a lesson plan for when the 1st year students return from their internships. He's thinking about doing some kind of race, but as of now he is drawing a blank. While he was considering just texting Aizawa for ideas, his phone started to ring. "Excellent, I could use a distraction!" He smiled, so eager for the conversation that he didn't even think switch into his muscular form. "All Might here! What can I do for you to-"

"Cut the crap Toshi, this is important".

All Might's mood immediately drops. "Gran Torino?! Oh! Why're you calling? Is everything going well with Young Midoriya?"

"No, everything is not going well with your brat, Hosu is falling apart and he just ran off! A couple minor heroes and I are going to look for them, but Endeavor is dealing with a bunch of Nomus by himself and he could use the back up. How soon can you get to Hosu?"

All Might looks at the clock. "I can be there in five. Leave your location on". He immediately switches into his hero form, and launches off in pursuit of justice.

As All Might drew closer to Hosu, he couldn't help but think that Gran Torino undersold the pure madness that was overtaking this residential neighborhood. His heart wrenched thinking about what Young Midoriya might be facing at this moment. He knows his successor, and he wouldn't have run off from Gran Torino without a reason. With his head in the clouds, All Might almost misses the big rush of flames that are spewing within the streets below, and he realizes that he has finally made it to Hosu. All Might lands with a sense of bravado, and immediately turns to Endeavor. "ENDEAVOR! I AM HERE! WHERE CAN I HELP?" Endeavor, without acknowledging the Symbol of Peace, simply scoffs.

"Of course your here. I have this covered. If you want to play savior, go find out where all of my sidekicks have run off to. They were supposed to find where Shoto went, but they haven't been answering their communicators." Looking back, All Might would think back to how despite their differences, this was the first time Endeavor actually asked for his assistance. Instead, he just wondered if they went the same way as Gran Torino. It wouldn't matter anyway, because after that night, Endeavor would never ask for his help again. With a simple nod of confirmation, All Might looks at his phone, finds Gran Torino's location, and immediately rushes off to join him. Once he gets there, however, he only wishes he had somehow gotten there faster.

Gran Torino had led him to an alleyway littered in bodies, all of them belonging to pro heros. The only one left standing was the old man himself, zig zagging along the walls at a breakneck speed against what he now recognized as the Hero Killer Stain, and for the first time in his life, All Might hesitated to act. Looking at all of his dead comrades, All Might could only think of the well being of his successor, and was desperately looking for him among the sea of the dead. Instead, his heart broke as he recognized two other bodies, those of Young Iida and Young Todoroki. Iida was laying in a pool of his own blood, and Todoroki's lifeless hands were clutching at his throat, with a look of shock permanently etched on his young face. His search was interrupted when a guttural scream was heard ahead of him. The Hero Killer had finally gotten a hit on Gran, cutting him on his leg. It was deep, but why wasn't his old sensei trying to get up?! As Stain lifts his sword to give his finishing blow, All Might launches into action.

With little fanfare, All Might sprints into the alleyway, and tackles Stain against the wall. A resounding crack is heard, and All Might blanches as he realizes that he might have put too much power behind that strike. The Hero Killer slumps to the ground, his back being broken in one hit. All Might refuses to let him lose consciousness however, he still has questions. The Symbol of Peace looks down, preparing to look down at the face of evil, but is startled to see only pure reverence reflecting back at him from this monster.

"Finally...someone worthy. You're here, you're actually here." Stain is struggling to breathe, with his wounds finally catching up to him. All Might, breaking out of his stupor, lifts the Hero Killer by his collar, eliciting a pained groan out of the murderer.

"WHERE IS YOUNG MIDORIYA?! GREEN HAIR, GREEN UNIFORM! WAS HE HERE?!" All Might is seething, already fearing the worst. Stain coughs out a smile, clearly understanding who he was talking about.

"Him, the worthy one. He wasn't worth slaughtering, unlike the rest of the fakes here. He ran off as soon as I finished off that Ingenium imposter. I'd look for him quickly though, he managed to take a lot of cuts for his teammate. He won't survive the night without medical attention." Stain gives all of this information willingly, even pointing to the direction Midoriya had run off. All Might didn't care about the Hero Killer's cooperativeness, but instead was actively trying to prevent himself from having a mental crisis. His successor, his boy, was out there in pain, and he was _making lesson plans_. He was seeing red.

"I'd like for the boy to live, but my work here is done. I have rid this world of so many fakes, and now _you_ are here. My back is broken, my blades gone. I've done my duty." All Might knew then that this battle was over, and that he should call the police so that he can be sent to Tarturus. But then, All Might did something that he would regret for the rest of his life. He looked down, and saw Young Iida's face once again. The fear and regret in his glossy eyes broke his heart, and his mind was enraged imaging Midoriya in that state. He turns once back to the Hero Killer, and with a victorious yell and his full strength, punches Stain in the face, leaving nothing above the neck but a splatter against the brickwork.

All Might turns away from his handiwork, guilt rapidly approaching him as he realized what he had just done in anger.

"Yagi, what did you do?" Gran Torino whispers, finally out of his state of paralysis. All Might turns back to him.

"WHY, WHAT KIND OF HERO WOULD I BE IF I REFUSED A FAN?!" All Might replies, his twisted remark hidden behind his trademark smile.

It would be the last time he smiled for a very long time.


	2. A Lifetime to Build, A Second to Destory

All Might awoke the morning after the massacre to a wave of guilt. Not only did he give into his most base instincts and struck down the Hero Killer, but he was unable to find any traces of Young Midoriya. To make matters worse, he had gotten a look at the morning headline. It said "Japan Mournes: 20 Heroes Lost at the Hands of the Hero Killer Stain, Put Down by All Might". All Might read the article three times in a quickened pace, he was unable to put it down. With each read through, he found another reason to get angry.

The first time he read through, he was barely able to absorb any of the information, too fixated on the title. Put down? It makes it sound like it was an act of cruelty. Stain wasn't put down, he was defeated. Yes, technically Stain was defenseless, and should have been taken to the police, but All Might was convinced that in the end he had done the world a service by ending his life. The second time he read it, he couldn't get passed the first page, furious at the photograph displayed. Somehow, someone had gotten a shot of All Might in the aftermath, as it showed All Might standing triumphantly, both hands on his hips, as he stood around the mangled corpses of his comrades. With it's sharp juxtaposition, it made All Might appear tone deaf to the despair all around. It made it look like all he cared about was the victory, and that he paid no mind to the bloodshed around him. It made him look like a fool, a fake. The third and last time he read the article, however, made him go from furious to enraged, and it wasn't due to what was stated in the piece, but rather what was left out. Gran Torino, even though he is a minor hero at best, wasn't mentioned at all despite being the only survivor. He acted valiantly, and Stain had slashed his Achilles tendon in the fight. At his age, he will never work as a hero again, even with Recovery Girl's assistance, and he didn't get a mention. Not only that, but Young Midoriya was also not listed as a survivor.

He was listed among the dead. He had been missing for less than a day, and the world had already written him off.

With a deep scowl, the Symbol of Peace crumples up his newspaper and throws it in the trash.

Two days later, a press conference was held. Seated beside All Might were Nezu, Erasurehead, Endeavor, and Tensei Iida, formerly the hero Ingenium. Each of them were there to discuss the night of the massacre, and what they were going to do in the face of such a tragedy. Endeavor had made it clear from the beginning that he wasn't going to be answering any questions, his eyes bloodshot, shoulders slumped. It did not look like the Endeavor the world was used to seeing, as his eyes, once radiant with determination, were now darkened with grief. Whether his eyes were bloodshot from tears or insomnia, one could only guess. Endeavor refused to say a word. Instead, all questions were initially directed to Ingenium, as not only is he the brother of Tenya, but was also the sole survivor of a Hero Killer attack. Tensei, even in retirement, acted with the grace of a hero in his prime, politely answering each question, and thanking the crowd for all of the support and love directed to him and his family. Endeavor grunted in response. Eventually, the questions were turned to Nezu and Eraserhead, the press desperate to hear how UA would respond to the death and disappearance of three of their first year students. Nezu, clearly prepared, gave thoughtful and deliberate responses, while Aizawa stuck to one word answers, if any at all. Through all of this conference, Toshinori did not say a word, not even attempting to reassure the public. The press had become vultures to him, so quick to give up on Young Midoriya, so willing to disregard Gran Torino and his sacrifice. Was he even invited to this? All Might would have been surprised if he was. The press could tell that the number one hero was in no mood to talk, and they were willing to give him space out of respect. That is, until one young reporter got called on to speak.

"All Might", he started, "based off of both Ingenium's testimony and audio captured during your confrontation with Stain, we heard him mention that you were the only one 'worthy' of being a hero. Why do you think that is? What is it about your style of heroics made you considered to be a 'true hero' and everyone else to be 'fakes'?"

All Might clenches his jaw at this question, both angry and disappointed at the phrasing of the question. They are asking about his actions? His?! Are they implying that he is somehow responsible for the Hero Killer's illusions? The Symbol of Peace takes a deep breath, and mentally prepares to answer, but gets interrupted from the microphone beside him.

"I know why." Endeavor's voice is coarse and broken, as if he either spent the last two days screaming to the heavens, or he hasn't said a word since that night. Either way, it did not sound at all like the brash bulldozer of man the world had been used to. This man was haunted. "The reason Stain, this madman, thought All Might was worthy, is due to nothing but his damn ego." Endeavor stops for the crowd to react, but no one interrupts except for the flashes of a few cameras. Realizing that he will be able to speak uninterrupted, Enji Todoroki continues. "For 30 years, All Might, the number one hero, the Symbol of Peace, has been able to solve every crime he comes across. Whether it be a deranged villain, a downed airplane, or a tsunami, All Might has been able to face them all with a smile on his face. This man, for 30 years, has been able to do the impossible, all while playing by his own set of rules. While the rest of us had to reveal our real names and quirks to the public, All Might has remained elusive. At some point, he no longer became a hero, or a man, but a symbol, one that every that he left in his place aspired to surpass. Every child with a dream wanted to be him. I should know, I was one of them." Endeavor then turns to face All Might directly. "My son, Shouto, was one of them. All he ever wanted was to beat All Might, and be the number one hero. Now, that dream will never come to pass, because with all of your immense strength, you failed to hold up your fellow hero, and instead allowed us to be pushed aside by your ambition. You, with your god-like influence, had created an impossible standard, and with it a horde of fanatics, one of them being the Hero Killer Stain." Endeavor then turns back to the podium. "That is what made you 'worthy, that is what robbed me of my legacy."

All Might, as with the rest of the audience, is stunned by Endeavor's response. The audience, it was due to the sheer vulnerability behind the unflappable fire hero's words, but for All Might, it was for another reason entirely. He saw the look in Endeavor's eyes as he spoke to him, and he didn't see pain, nor grief. He saw ambition, and calculation. All Might had realized in this moment that Endeavor was using his grief as a weapon, to cripple All Might's career and dethrone him as the number one hero. Endeavor wasn't acting like a hero, and he wasn't acting like a father. All Might clenches his jaw. Endeavor was acting like a villain.

As the crowd awaits All Might's reply, he stands up with fury behind his eyes. He takes a deep breath, and punches Enji Todoroki squarely across the face.

The cameras shuttered as he broke his jaw.

The next morning, All Might didn't bother to read the morning paper.

Two weeks had passed since then. The news had a new focus today, as UA has finally reopened its doors for the first time since it lost three of its own.

All Might walks towards the door for 1A's homeroom, mentally preparing himself for the lesson he has planned for today. What will the students be like when he walks in? He's heard from the other teachers that they seem to have been acting normally, if not quieter than usual, but he's not like the rest of the teachers. He's All Might, the Symbol of Peace. The man who killed the Hero Killer. The man who saw their classmates' lifeless eyes. Will they ask him about them? Just the thought of it brought a lump in his throat. Once outside the door, Toshinori does a quick breathing exercise, and attempts to put on his trademark smile, for the children's sake. In the end, the smile didn't feel right, so instead he just opened the door, awaiting the tense silence that was surely to greet him.

Instead, he walks in on a fight.

One side of the room, Young Bakugou is screaming bloody murder, being restrained by Kirishima and Shoji, each holding back his arms while he tries to attack his foe. This was one of the students he was most concerned about, as Bakugou has always had a short temper, and a habit of making statements without paying attention to how they came across to others. Not only that, but him and Young Midoriya had a complicated history, as far as he and the other teachers could tell. He knew that they grew up with each other, and despite him probably saying otherwise, his passing must be hitting him hard. On top of that, he had an unspoken rivalry with both Young Midoriya and Young Todoroki. Now, he was officially the best in class in terms of quirks, for the worst reason imaginable.

On the other side, surprisingly, was Young Uraraka, being held back by Asui and Tokoyami, with Dark Shadow pining back her arms, and Asui's tongue wrapped around her middle. Just by looking at her, All Might's heart broke. Uraraka had clearly been taking the news of the massacre the hardest, as she had quickly become quick friends with Midoriya and Iida over the course of a short few weeks. Now, she was all alone. The teachers had informed him that earlier in the day she had been reclusive during their classes, and that she was unresponsive to almost all condolences. Here, however, he could clearly see how much this had shaken her. She was bawling her eyes out, thrashing against her friends' restraints as if they truly meant to harm her, and her gaze never left Bakugou, a face full of pain, guilt, and hatred.

Fully taking in the situation, All Might then decides to make his presence known. "ENOUGH". With that one statement, everyone at least begins to act civilly. "YOUNG URARAKA, YOUNG BAKUGOU, WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" He glares at the two of them, waiting for them to reply. When he looks once again, at Bakugou, he grumbled under his breath. "WHAT WAS THAT YOUNG BAKUGOU?"

"Tch, All I said was that those fuckers wouldn't have died if I was there! It's not my fault that fucking Round Face went all pyscho…"

"HE'S NOT DEAD!" Uraraka interjects. "Deku could still be out there! Just because you hate him, doesn't mean we all have to give up on him!" Her voice broke at the end of her outburst, and Young Asui, one her captor, now just rubs her back as she cries, softly ribbiting as she does.

"I never said that I've given up on the shitnerd, you goddamn extra! But the fucking nerd can barely go a full day without talking to his mom! Do you think he'd let himself go missing for damn weeks without trying to get in contact with her! I'm just being realistic! If that goddamn useless Deku couldn't protect that extra and IcyHot, then he's as good as dead! He would have died before he let them get killed." Bakugou slumps in his seat. "That's just the kind of loser he is."

Uraraka starts getting worked up. "NO. You heard Deku the day he chose his hero name! He's Deku, the hero that never gives up! He has to still be out there! I just know it!"

"Tch, whatever Round Face, go live in your fucking fantasy world. Just remember that next time you're facing a killer, there won't be some precious Deku to save you. God knows you wouldn't have been any help in that fucking alleyway." The classroom collectively gasps at that comment.

"YOUNG BAKUGOU, THAT IS ENOUGH!" Blame it on his lack of teaching skills, but All Might finally realizes that he should take control of the situation.

"Why the fuck should I? I'm just saying what everyone is thinking! Deku, IcyHot, and fucking Engine Legs were some of the strongest in the class, and even they couldn't beat one fucking villian! A real hero always wins! You always win! You fucking killed that bastard! And if Deku somehow lived, then he's no real hero either! A real hero fights to the death, a real hero never gets hurt! Just like you! You've faced the worst villains imaginable, and you don't have a goddamn scratch on you!"  
All Might looks at Bakugou, with Endeavor's words from the press conference echoing back at him. Just like Midoriya and Stain, Bakugou had been given a warped sense of heroism, and it's all his fault. He knew he had to correct this, and he knew just how to do it. All Might looks down at his lesson plan for the day. He should have known that he would have to go off book. So, with a look of pain and conviction, All Might looks Young Bakugou dead in the eyes, and with a puff of smoke, transforms into his true self.

Before the class can erupt into chaos, Toshinori lifts up his hand, letting him know that he intends to speak. "That couldn't be farther from the truth, Young Bakugou." He then turns to the entire classroom. "Yes, before you ask, I am in fact All Might, or at least what I am for 21 hours a day. Because, as I am about to show you, us heroes are not invincible." All Might can't help but think back to the last time he told this story, back with Young Midoriya on that rooftop. Back then, he used this story to dissuade him from being a hero. Hopefully, it doesn't have the same mistake this time around. "This, right here, is what's left of my body. After a vicious villain attack six years ago, I lost my entire stomach, and one of my lungs. It has been years since I've enjoyed a meal, or a cup of tea. Do to my injury, I can only do hero work for three hours a day, even less so since the USJ". The students do not respond, they just look ahead in mute horror. "There will come a time in every hero's life where they will face a hard choice, where they will have to decide between saving themselves and saving those around them. Yet with teamwork-", he looks at Bakugou, "- you can hold off making that decision for as long as possible, but eventually, that choice will be made for you."

All Might's body, with a cruel sense of dramatic effect, then decided to start spitting up blood. The class shrieked, but All Might knew he needed to power through. There was more he needed to say. "Two weeks ago, three of your classmates made a fatal mistake, as they all faced the same flaw: they refused to get help until it was too late. Young Iida, on his own, decided to chase after Stain. Young Midoriya, on his own went to go find him, and when he sent out that message describing his location, Young Todoroki decided to go assist, on his own. If any of them had thought to ask for assistance in their quest, maybe they would have succeeded, and three of these seats wouldn't be empty today. Instead, for one reason or another, they decided to go off on their own, and as a result they were picked off one by one."

All Might then, once again, looks back at his lesson plan. Time to bring it all home. "But as Young Uraraka mentioned, one of your students has yet to be found. He may be dead, but as a hero, I refuse to accept that! He is out there, all alone, and he needs a team. So for the rest of the semester, there will only be one assignment in my class…"

"We are going to find Izuku Midoriya."


	3. If They Don't Understand, They Soon Will

"I swear, you are the pinnacle of irrationality"

All Might is currently sitting in Principal Nezu's office, discussing his actions during the 1st year final exams. Next to the principal is Aizawa, which doesn't surprise him too much. After all, he did just put one of his students in the hospital.

"Not only have you been wasting my students' time with this wild goose chase for Midoriya, but now you have landed one of our star students in the hospital. He'll be lucky to even make to the training camp in few weeks." Aizawa rubs his eyes. "So please, what reason could you possibly have had to go full force against a 15 year old boy."

All Might, once upon a time, would have been ashamed of himself. His actions seemed cruel, even excessive, but now All Might knows the truth. Those actions, above all else, were necessary.

"He needed to learn."

"Yes, Bakugou needed to learn the hard way that he had to rely on others, that's why we had him fight you one on one in the first place. But that could have been done with a _single punch_. How can you sit here and-"

"No, one punch wouldn't have been enough. He needed to learn that overestimating himself wouldn't cost him his grade, but that it would cost him his life. That was the lesson I needed to impart."

Aizawa sighs into his scarf. "You are as stubborn as you are foolish. There's no reasoning with someone as impractical as yourself. Nezu, please."

For the duration of the conversation, Nezu had been delighting sipping on his tea, watching with a sardonic glee as the unflappable Eraserhead grew more and more exasperated. But alas, now that he was called upon, the fun must come to an end. Now, he must do his job. "Well yes, All Might, there is no questioning behind your logic, and most certainly your results. A fractured skull, six shattered ribs, and a punctured lung will most certainly get the point across to our little hothead! However! Did you happen to consider what such an image would show to our current students? To the press? The Symbol Of Peace kicking a student into unconsciousness,after he surrendered no less, does not bring the best optics to our institution."

All Might silently nods his head, inwardly acknowledging that Nezu does make a point. He knew this incident wouldn't reflect well on himself, but he stopped caring about his image months ago. However, he hadn't once considered how it would reflect on the school. Yet, even if he had, All Might knows that it would not have changed what he had done. During that exam, while he was toying with Young Bakugou, he saw how much he was enjoying the test. He saw the excitement in his grin as he had the fight of his life, and the adoration in his eyes as he fought the number one hero.

It made him sick.

So he hit him. Again and again and again until his eyes went from adoration to anger to terror. That is what he had to do to protect Young Bakugou from becoming another Midoriya, another Endeavor, another Stain. His godlike image has corrupted so many lives without even knowing it. Now that he does, he will squash it out whenever he sees it.

"Nezu, I did what I had to do. I work for justice, not sound bytes! UA will handle this scandal, just like all of the others. At the end of the day, UA is UA, and even I can't ruin that reputation. You give me too much credit."

"Why no, in fact, I think I gave you just as much credit as you deserve! Aizawa, the papers please!" Aizawa, throughout the conversation, never took his eyes off of him. At one point, his doing so would have put him on edge, but now, it just bored him. Aizawa, bends down to get the paper, still not letting All Might out of his sight. With a soft thud, two stacks of papers, one much larger than the other, land on the desk.

"Now, All Might, this first stack you are looking at here are all of the early applications papers submitted for next year's courses at UA! Isn't it just delightful? It's such a large amount! Except, strangely, for the first time in the school's existence, our application numbers have gone down, and by a considerable number I might add. Why would you think that is?"

All Might knew where this was headed. "I wasn't hired to be an advertisement, Nezu, I'm here to raise the next generation of heroes."

Nezu doesn't skip a beat with his response. "Yes, that is quite so! But I am afraid that even in that regard you are performing well below our expectations. And that brings us to the second stack! Would you care to take a look!"

All Might, seeing no way out of it, takes the bait, and lifts up the smaller stack of papers closest to him and thus All Might, with disinterested eyes, begins to reads through all of the withdrawals his students have requested from the hero course. The first one he picked up, Mineta, wants to go to General Studies. No loss there, he supposes. The next, Kaminari, wants to go to Business. Good luck to him. Yayarozou, Support. Shoji, business. Koda, bless his heart, wants to leave UA all together. Good. If they want to leave now, then they're too soft for hero work. They aren't worthy of such a moniker. All Might then continues to sift through this paper trail of cowardice, finally stopping on one that makes him draw a breath. It was someone he would never have expected to want to leave his class.

"Ah", Nezu squeaks, "I see you've found Uraraka's transfer request to Shiketsu! It is quite unfortunate I must say, we most certainly would have groomed her into a fantastic hero."

"No", All Might says. "This can't be true. She wouldn't leave, not while we're so close to finding him." True to his word, 1-A has spent every hero course scouring for any hint of Young Midoriya's whereabouts, even taking them on patrols on their spare time, and no student volunteered for more shifts than Young Uraraka. While more and more of her classmates had given up, she had continued to hope. Now, it appears, she too has lost faith.

"And that brings me to my final point, Toshinori. As unorthodox as your request was for your class, we allowed you to have 1-A look for Izuku Midoriya, as we thought them having a hand in rescuing their friend would raise their spirits after the vicious murder of their classmates. However, after all these months, not a single clue has emerged, and yet you won't let your students move on! Out of all of these transfer requests, All Might, you were mentioned in almost all of them."

"There were clues", All Might said through gritted teeth. "Young Bakugou-"

"Bakugou didn't know what he saw." Aizawa, still staring through the Symbol of Peace, speaks up with a surprising amount of emotion. "He said that he may have seen Midoriya near his childhood home, but we followed that lead for months, and nothing has come from it. I know how badly you want to find that Problem Child, but you're not the only one who misses him. By forcing his classmates to search for a dead child, even after school, you had robbed them of their chance to grieve and eventually. The decision was irrational, inappropriate, and selfish. How any of these kids looked up to you is beyond me. Either Midoriya is dead, or doesn't want to be found. Regardless, they need to move on" By the end of the statement, Aizawa was nearly shaking. It appears that he had been holding in that outburst for quite some time. But All Might wasn't fazed. Aizawa didn't understand what Midoriya's loss meant to him, to the world. Nine generations of heroes, ended by a single lunatic. Even if he worked for the League, he couldn't believe it. He wouldn't

All Might turns back to Nezu, and asks him, full of disdain, "So, what does this mean for me. Am I fired now?"

Nezu only laughs in response. "Why no! As bad as your actions have been, the media would have a field day if we just got up and removed you from the school! We can't fire you! No, no no no, you must resign!"

….

"You rat bastard."

Nezu once again laughs. "Why All Might! You wound me so! You know I associate more as a bear-thing than a rat!". He wipes a tear from his scarred eye. "You should be happy! This is a good thing! You came here to find a successor and train him under our eye, and you did! Now, your job is over! You're free! You don't have to use your three hours of hero work beating up school children anymore, you can go back to being a hero."

All Might, for the first time in this conversation, visibly showed emotion. That emotion, justifiably, was anger. Did Nezu just out One For All? He looks over at Aizawa, who just kept staring back. If what Nezu said surprised him, he didn't show it. Nezu, following his gaze, sees where his anger lies, and continues. "Toshinori Yagi! Are you really upset what I just said?! I assure you, Aizawa here can be trusted with a little secret! So please, agree to resign, and we can all go back to doing what we're best at."

He looks down at the paper. Could he really give up on his students? He looks at the stack of applications, and then at the transfer requests. 'None of them want me to be teaching them anyway.' With the atmosphere tense, All Might stands to grab his pen out of his baggy yellow jacket. Yet as he stands, something happens that truly shows how lost this world had become.

Aizawa uses his quirk.

It doesn't affect All Might physically, as he was already in his true form, but the act shocks him. "Did you...did you think I was going to strike you, Aizawa?" He looks back to the principal. "Is this why you brought him here?! For your protection?!"

Aizawa, deactivating his quirk, scoffs. "It wouldn't be the first time you beat up a hero because you didn't like what he said."

"Maybe so, Young Aizawa-" Eraserhead's mouth slightly twitches at the patronization "- but I'm more upset at how presumptuous you are with your quirk!"

With that, the mood in the room shifts. Aizawa, a veteran hero, knows when a fight is about to start. He grabs his scarf, and his eyes start to turn red.

The preparation was for naught however, because within a flash, All Might had turned into his muscular form, grabbed Aizawa by the back of the head, and shoved his face into the desk, cracking it in two "I AM FASTER THAN A BULLET, AIZAWA! YOU DON'T THINK I CAN'T KILL YOU IN A BLINK OF AN EYE IF I WANTED TO?!"

Aizawa, now unconscious with a severe concussion, sinks to the floor, and is unable to answer the question. Nezu, despite his animal heart beating out of his chest, and his senses screaming at him to run, decided instead to drink his tea. He knows his quirk, High Specs. There was always a chance that this meeting would end this way, and he was prepared for the worst.

And All Might, with his monstrous strength, turns to face him. "YOU WANT ME TO RESIGN, OLD FRIEND! THEN BY ALL MEANS, CONSIDER THIS AS MY SIGNATURE!"

With a flick of his finger, half of the administration building was gone. All Might, seething with rage, decides to leap away before he loses control. He flies off into the distance, not turning back once. He knew where he flicked, Aizawa and Nezu will survive.

It appears that they too had a lesson to learn.


End file.
